Lead the way
by sharkinterviewee
Summary: Thor and Valkyrie are both NASA interns pulling an all nighter on the project they're working on together, and bonding and flirting happens (not necessarily in that order) - Also, Valkyrie's a mechanical engineer who picked Thor as her partner cause boy's got some drawing skills for these plans they're drafting up, so if that sounds like something you'd be into…


"I didn't know they let design students in this program," she said, looking over at him, no judgment in her tone, just… something like a idle curiosity. It was late. Seriously late. There was something about being so utterly exhausted that made her more open to conversation that she normally would have avoided.

Usually she avoided small talk with the other interns, much preferring to focus on the task at hand than bonding over student loan debt and shared misery of a grueling, intensive program. At least it was a paid internship. And she had to work her ass off to become a better applicant than the hundreds, if not thousands of applications the program received. The NASA internship was highly competitive, but now she was here.

And fucking exhausted.

There was something so cool about being in the observatory this late at night though. That's probably what had her in such a good mood. She was tired as hell, much more tired than cramming for even the most intensive finals, but she was exhausted and _satisfied._

The was almost something otherworldly about the atmosphere, being alone this late at night, this whole section absolutely deserted, like maybe it was haunted or something, which was fucking awesome. There was something so creepy about being in this building in the middle of the night when no one was around that made her want to go _explore_ all the other dark rooms and twists and turns and halls she had never been down before. It totally had that haunted vibe at night. Even the observatory here, the single lamp illuminating the table, casting shadows on the walls around them. Totally spooky atmosphere.

Maybe that was just the sleep deprivation talking. Valkyrie made a mental note to look up if anyone had been murdered in the near vicinity, or any conspiracy theories about the facility after she was done for the night.

"Double major," her sleepy cohort explained, blearily blinking before rubbing his eyes like that would wake him up or something.

She raised a curious eyebrow at him.

Thor was… well, he was something.

Valkyrie still didn't know the interns as much as they seemed to know each other (she wasn't exactly 'social', despite the camaraderie of them all being tired interns). She didn't take the time to get to know them, preferring to eat her lunch alone than making small talk with the rest of them.

Thor was definitely the only intern she was even slightly familiar with. Over the past couple weeks they had built up a report and a mutual friendly sorta rivalry that was filled with sarcastic barbs and lots of eye rolls and genuine smiles.

He was surprisingly funny, and had a different way of thinking about things- solutions to problems that made her lower her brows in puzzlement because _could that actually work_, and then her inevitably being impressed because his work around solution that was just weird and out there in a befuddling sort of way actually did work.

She actually buddied up with him on this project because she had seen his art skills, and if they had to draw up drafts for this new- machine they were making, she definitely wanted him on her team.

As a mechanical engineer, Valkyrie could sketch out a rough plan well enough, but that's where her artistic ability began and ended.

This was the most they'd talked to each other in one sitting. They still didn't know each other all that well. Their relationship was more built upon sharing a similar sense of humor and trading quips throughout the day than sitting down and actually getting to know each other.

She looked down at the cup in her hands- he knew her well enough to know how she preferred to take her caffeine, brought her this huge cup of tea for this all nighter they were pulling. Maybe they actually were friends.

But, as he adjusted the plans with the modifications they were brainstorming a couple of moments ago, she had the bizarre urge to actually ask him a personal question. And she actually followed through on it.

He'd answered that he was a design student when she inquired to his artistic ability (he was clearly talented, and his rough sketches were always next level compared to the other interns), but that actually confused her even more.

She didn't know they let non-STEM field applicants in this program. But double major, that explained it.

"Overachiever," Valkyrie scoffed with a teasing smile, and Thor chuckled.

"Yeah, maybe a bit," he conceded, still smiling as he worked.

And that smile of his was a little too cute. How had she never noticed that before? She definitely noticed how his teasing smile was infuriatingly attractive, and how he had a nice, full, resounding laugh, that she liked the way his eyes twinkled when she made a sarcastic comment or quip. And he had a stupid hot smirk that he wore during their verbal sparring matches with each other.

But she'd never noticed how _cute_ his smile was until now. Maybe it was because she'd never seen this one on him before.

With his exhaustion written all over him, the small smile that matched his sleepy expression, somehow he seemed more unguarded than she's ever seen him too- more bare, vulnerable. And this soft, sleepy smile of his was definitely cute.

"So," she shot him an expectant look (and gave him a light little elbow to his arm). "You not gonna tell me what you're an actual overachiever in?"

Thor looked confused for a moment, like he didn't realize he just left her hanging without revealing what his second major was. Left her curious, actually interested in what his answer would be, not just trying to make dreaded small talk with a fellow intern.

"Oh, oh yeah," he said, seeming a bit sheepish. She couldn't blame him for forgetting the unspoken rules of human interaction like you don't just tell your NASA project partner you're a design major and a something else major and just leave it at that. If exhausted intern was a competition, he might be winning right now.

"Yeah," Thor mumbled, dragging his hand over his face, like his tired brain still needed time to process the statement. "Yeah, uh, design and astronomy. Astronomy. That's the second one. Design wasn't just an art thing though- we did a lot of like, aerodynamics stuff in some of those classes. Like this," he tapped the plans they had sketched out in front of them, for this projectile that they would theoretically be sending into space.

Valkyrie smiled. "Nerd."

"Hey!" He whined, like it was something to actually get offended about. "You can't call me a nerd! You're a nerd too!"

"Yeah, I know," she raised her eyebrows, genuinely amused, still waiting for him to get she was being facetious. "It's called a joke. People do that sometimes."

Thor's eyes widened, actually blushing at the realization cause yeah, duh. Then buried his face in his hands, groaning in embarrassment. "Sorry. I am way too damn tired right now."

"I can tell," she chuckled. When he still didn't look up, she nudged him, once and then again. "Don't worry about it. It's just fun messing with you right now. We'll both be lucky if these plans actually make sense in the morning."

She took another sip from her drink, the one he had so graciously brought her, saying he didn't really do caffeine when she asked him why he only came in carrying one, with nothing nothing sugary _or _caffeinated to carry him through this all nighter.

She looked at the cup in her hand, how Valkyrie was spelled out in black scribbled sharpie beside her order, and thought it was kinda nice. Even though she'd gotten the same order for herself from the same local coffee shop with the same cups and the same cardboard handle, this was the first time she had seen Valkyrie on one of her cups of tea before. She always just gave her last name for coffee orders. People didn't ask her if she was 'making that up' when she said Thompson when prompted for her name. Didn't get weird looks like Valkyrie would garner with her chai latte.

It was almost a novel sight, seeing her first name scrawled on the cup Thor brought her this evening. Not an unwelcome one, though. It was kinda nice.

"You want some tea?" She offered, holding it out to him. "I know you said you don't do caffeine, but it really does make all nighters a bit more bearable."

Thor eyed her cup, like he was weighing his options, with a calculating and almost suspicious look that made her certain he was doing a cost benefit analysis of whatever pros caffeine had to offer versus whatever reason he avoided it for. He apparently decided just screw it, swiping the precious caffeine from her, and Valkyrie grinned like caffeine was something to be a corrupting influence about.

After taking a drink, Thor suddenly looked down, staring at her cup like it was a wonder. "Man, I have really been missing out," he murmured. "That is delicious."

She laughed. "I know. 'S why I like it so much."

Thor turned the cup over in his hands, pursing his lips something thoughtful in his focus. "I've been meaning to ask you about that," he said suddenly, still focused on her cup. "Your name, I mean. Valkyrie. Did you pick that, or was it given to you?" He had an oddly sincere look on his face as he fiddled with the cardboard holder, spinning it around the warm drink, and she realized that's what he was focused on. Those eight letters scrawled out on the side in black ink.

"I mean," he started again, licking his lips almost nervously, "don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm one to talk," Thor chuckled a bit at his self deprecating jab, since the plight of uncommon names was something they shared. "And your name is so much cooler than mine- I was just wondering if you chose a superhero name for yourself as like a personal decision or like… is there a story behind it?"

"It's the one on my birth certificate," she shrugged. "Think my parents expected me to be doing something a bit different with my life than _math._"

Her parents were supportive when she took a statistics class and found herself much more interested in calculating test statistics from population parameters and sample means, and from there it was a quick slide into math centered courses and then landing in her university's mechanical engineering program. She thought she hated math since 5th grade, but found out that wasn't the case in college, much more interested and engaged in it than any humanities subject she had ever taken or anything her high school math teachers had put before her.

Still, math and engineering were a pretty far cry from mythological warrior maidens

She had a stage in middle school where she tried going by a _normal _name, just the average identity crisis that all kids with uncommon names went through at some point, especially kids named after mythological figures. But that was when she was 12 years old.

Now she was an adult, and she quite liked her name. She didn't care to go through the hassle of having to explain it to a barista and answer all their questions every time she ordered a cup of coffee (she was more the get in get out kind of person), but she did like her name. She agreed with his assessment. Valkyrie was a pretty cool name.

She had expected him to laugh at her little math joke, since he was obviously familiar with the historical origins of Valkyrie to call it a superhero name, and all the calculus they had to do in this program was a pretty far cry from a warrior figure. But he didn't.

"What? You're literally leading human exploration into space," he said, pointing down at the project they've been working on for the past couple hours. "Celestial bodies and into the cosmos. Don't think you can get more Valkyrie than that."

Valkyrie just stared at him for a second. Maybe a couple of seconds.

"What?" Thor asked carefully, like he might have said something wrong, but he wasn't sure.

She felt the heat rise to her face, and she quickly looked away, focusing on the table instead of the absolutely earnest look in his eyes when he was saying stuff like that.

"Nothing. I just… that's a nice way of thinking of it," she mumbled, really having no better way of describing the pleased feeling rising in her chest at his words.

* * *

Maybe it's the sleep deprivation. Maybe it's the sound of his voice. Maybe it's his smile that's so cute it's doing stuff to her head. Maybe it's how open he is. Maybe it's how there's something entrancing about the way his pencil glides across the paper as he draws out all the modifications according to her specs. Maybe it's how many times she's laughed in the past half hour. Maybe it's the way he looks at her, how it's 3 AM and they're both exhausted, and he's too tired to even attempt to hide how he lights up when she says his name, too tired to not look absolutely taken with her as she talks about thermodynamics and gets _really _passionate defending how the only B she ever got in her whole college career was from a complete asshole who failed her final project for not following instructions because she found a quicker, more efficient loophole that technically wasn't following the project guidelines.

Maybe it's how he keeps chiming in and making her laugh, how his eyes are so intense it makes her heart flutter, how some of their tired banter has drifted much closer to flirtatious than it ever has before, how she's felt the heat creep up her neck from something he said in a way that wasn't bad at all, how they're both tired out of their mind and just have their guards completely down, just talking and not trying to hide anything, unable to hide anything, and having a genuinely good time together.

Maybe it's a lot of things.

Probably the tired thing. Like 98% of it is being utterly exhausted, because normally she preferred to keep anything with a peer from classes or someone she works with to a strictly platonic level, and would always steer a conversation away from exactly what this felt like it was going to if it even started hinting at this.

Maybe it's because she likes him. She really, really likes him.

Whatever the reason, she broke her informal rule of never so much as entertaining the idea of striking something up with a professional colleague, wouldn't risk it.

Yeah, she's pretty sure it's the tiredness that makes it seem so doable right now, breaking that equilibrium. But she's feeling confident, and he's cute, and she maybe actually really likes Thor, and is pretty sure the feeling is mutual. So she takes the dive.

"Would you tell me if you had been flirting with me this whole time?" Valkyrie asked suddenly.

Thor blinked, still staring down at the table as his face flushed, even the tips of his ears turning red.

"Uh… maybe not this _whole _time," he answered, endearingly awkward. He still wasn't looking up, still wasn't looking at her. "Would you- be okay with that?"

Valkyrie had to bite her tongue and clench her fists to hold back the snort of laughter because that would've been so mean, to laugh at him, but he was just so cute, and did he seriously just ask for permission to flirt with her?

Though she was pretty sure she knew what he was actually asking. If it was… reciprocated, if any advances more overt than subtle flirting would be welcomed on her part. Still, the way he phrased it just made it sound like he was asking her permission to flirt with her which was downright adorable.

Valkyrie took a sip of her chai latte, hiding her smile behind the brim of the cup.

"Yeah, think I'd be pretty okay with you flirting with me _a lot _more often," she informed him, a silly sorta happiness on her face that she really wasn't used to letting show. She more went for the brooding looks, tried to put out a don't talk to me vibe because she hated most people and would really like her life to have a lot less human interaction in it than it did. She tried to put out the brooding don't bother me vibe, she wasn't used to making a silly little smile like this in the presence of another person. She found she was pretty okay with that too.

Thor looked up, saw the twinkle of amusement in her eye, just the general- warmth about her, and oh that smile. Yeah, she was definitely okay with him smiling at her like that a hell of a lot more often.

"Duly noted," he said with a barely suppressed grin, and she actually did snort at that. She couldn't help laughing, and when he laughed too, she didn't really want to help it.

They'd kinda devolved into smiling these ridiculously dorky smiles at each other, but Valkyrie had the presence of mind to remember they still had a project to finish.

"Okay, pretty boy, back to work. We still got a long night ahead of us."

Thor gasped, "Would _you _tell _me _if you were flirting with me the whole time?"

Despite how much he brightened, she had to shoot him down, because no, she had not been flirting with him the whole time.

"Nope, I'm much more overt than that when I'm hitting on someone. Say stuff like 'pretty boy'," she smirked, and there was that laugh from him again. That full laugh from the very center of his being that filled her bones with warmth.

Maybe in the morning she'd repay him for the tea and introduce him to all the other caffeinated drinks he'd been missing out on.

* * *

**AN:**

**So I was on tumblr browsing shittyaus last night and saw their prompt:_"I, an astronomy major, and you, an engineering major, are working together to design a new type of spaceship in our free time"_ and then I was up all night writing this**

**PS. America's accomplishments in the space race never would've happened without the women and women of color working at NASA in the 60s. You know what they called the female mathematicians they employed at NASA? Human computers.**  
**Because all the calculations had to be done by hand, and guess who was doing the computations for NASA? I haven't seen the biopic yet, but I've heard it's good, and you can always read the book _Hidden Figures_ is based off of if you want a good nonfiction read about the black female engineers and mathematicians at NASA from the 1930s-1960s**


End file.
